New Technology Could Make the Illinois Basin a Coal Hotspot

The Wall Street Journal reported that although US coal production fell 7 percent last year, coal output in the Illinois Basin is thriving and, primarily on the back of new technology, is expected to surpass that of Central Appalachia for the first time in the next few years.

As quoted in the market news:

New technologies are the primary reason for the boom. The Midwest boasts easily accessible deposits of coal that tend to be thicker than the more depleted eastern coal fields. Mining companies long ignored coal in Illinois and surrounding states because of its high sulfur content, but with utilities adding new equipment called scrubbers that remove sulfur to meet emissions standards, they can burn Illinois Basin coal more efficiently. It costs roughly half as much to dig coal out of the ground here as it does in Central Appalachia, industry analysts say.

Click here to read the full report from The Wall Street Journal.